Stitched shoe with inner lining



Nov. 7, 1967 F. J. SCHLECHT 3,350,795

STITCHED SHOE WITH INNER LINING Filed Aug. 1a, 1965 United States Patent O 3,356,795 STITCHED SHOE WlTH INNER LINING Frederick J. Schlecht, Worcester, Mass., assigner of onehalf to H. H. Brown Shoe Company, Worcester, and

one-half to George H. Rosen Shoe Mfg. Co., Inc., Cambridge, Mass., both corporations of Massachusetts Filed Aug. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 480,533 Ciaims. (Cl. .S6-2.5)

ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLSURE A welt boot or shoe `having a combined upper and sole lining connected `with the shoe upper by lines of stitching extending only across the base of the tongue above the instep and about the ankle opening of the lining.

The present invention relates to welt boots, being herein disclosed in a preferred form as embodied in a heavy duty boot of the general type having an insole which is connected by an inseam stitching operation to the welt and upper mounted on a last. The invention, while particularly illustrated as applied to a welt boot is not limited to this particular construction, but is applicable also to other shoe constructions in which a shoe upper is securely fastened to the shoe sole, as by stitching about the sole margin.

In the manufacture of shoes of the general type referred to as for example, in welt boots, the lining is combined with the upper in a preliminary stitching operation and is subsequently fastened into the inseam passing around the sole edge of the shoe in an inseam sewing operation during which the assembled parts of the upper, including the lining, are drawn down over the ribbed edge of the insole while mounted on a last, the welt is added and all of these parts are fastened together by a line of stitching which passes through the sewing rib of the insole. The lining in this way is normally secured firmly to the bottom edge of the upper around the sole edge of the shoe.

In welt boots in which the parts of the upper and welt are attached to the insole sewing rib in the manned described, will be appreciated that the quality and effectiveness of the insole are of the greatest importance in determining the quality, performance, and life of the shoes. The insole, for example, must be suthciently sturdy to hold its shape, to provide a firm anchor for the parts of the upper, the welt and indirectly the outsole attached thereto, and to withstand the wear and molding pressures of the wearers foot which is supported directly upon the insole protected normally by a thin insert.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a Welt boot of novel and improved construction including a novel construction and manner of fastening into the boot a foot enveloping liner to produce a boot of a lighter more flexible construction than are comparable shoes known in the art, and which will provide a greater degree of comfort for the wearer without sacrifice of essential wearing qualities.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved shoe construction of the general type having upper and sole elements stitched together around the margin of the shoe in which the shoe lining is constructed and arranged to be positioned and fastened into the shoe independently of the inseam, so that the shoe lining and particularly the toe and instep enveloping portion thereof will conform readily to, and will provide a firm support for, the foot of the wearer.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a novel combined upper and sole lining which is in effect a slipper shaped liner enveloping the foot including the toe and instep and attached to the shoe upper by stitching extending across the `base of the tongue above the instep and around the ankle opening of said liner so that the liner including the entire toe and instep portions thereof are suspended in Floating relation to the stitching fastening together the upper and sole.

As compared with a moccasin type construction in which the lining will normally be open across the toe and is attached along its upper edge to the line of stitching connecting the toe cap to the adjacent portions of the upper about the toe, the toe and instep enveloping portions of the slipper shaped shoe lining here shown, held only by the stitching across the base of the tongue, are completely free to adjust themselves to the toe portion of the wearers foot.

With the above and other objects in view as may hereinafter appear, the several features of the invention will be readily appreciated by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of a welt `boot embodyingr therein the several features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a full lining provided in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the toe portion of said lining taken on a line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper, lining, and insole assembled on a last, portions of the overlying upper and the toe portion of the insole having been broken away to illustrate underlying parts;

FIG. 5 is a view in side elevation of the lining and upper, insole and heel counter assembled upon the last preparatory to the inseam sewing operation, portions having been broken away and sectioned;

FIG. 6 is a detail sectional View taken on a line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a detail sectional view illustrating the manner in which the ribbed insole, upper and welt are attached by the inseam sewing operation while the lining is left floating with relation thereto; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a shoe similar to that shown in previous figures but with a half lining having the upper edge thereof attached to the upper along the side seam of the shoe.

The invention is disclosed as embodied in a welt boot having a full combined upper and sole lining comprising a slipper shaped liner which envelops the entire foot including the toe and instep and which is stitched to the upper across the base of the tongue and about ankle opening only prior to assembly of the upper and lining upon last. The lining 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 comprises a single blank of soft leather or other suitable material so shaped that, when folded over and stitched along the meeting edges as indicated, it will fit snugly over the shoe last inside the upper 22 and insole 24 assembled therewith (see FIG. 5). The pointed toe sections of the lining blank are secured to the bottom portion by a line of stitching 26 about the toe, and are then connected together by a line of stitching 28 up the middle of the toe and instep. The heel is similarly closed by a line of stitching 3d about the heel and a vertical line of stitching 32 fastening together the two sides of the blank.

The lining Z0 molded and sitched to shape as shown in FIG. 2 is now assembled with and stitched to the upper at the top portion of the shoe upper 22 around the ankle opening along line 34, down both sides of the lacing slot along lines 36 and 38, and across the base of the tongue 40 along line 42. The lining is further adhered to the upper by pasting in the normal manner.

The shoe is now assembled on the last 44 as shown in FIG. 5. The lining 20 and attached upper are first pulled into place, an insole 24 is pasted to the bottom surface of the lining 20, and a counter 43 indicated in dotted lines in FIG. is inserted between the lining 20 and heel portion of the upper 22. This is the stage to which the assembly has been brought in the illustration of FIG. 5.

The several operations required for `finishing the shoe making operation are those normally employed. Portions of the upper are pulled in and stapled to the insole following which the assembled upper 22, insole 24, and a welt 49 are stitched together by means of an insole stitching operation. Other operations will include an inseam trimming operation, the filling in of the between sole area, the addition of an outsole which may be sewn or cemented to the shoe, and the performance of various edge trimming, bufng and polishing operations which do not form any part of the invention and are therefore not here specifically described or illustrated.

A distinguishing feature of my improved construction consists in the provision of the boot lining above described which entirely envelops the foot, including the toe and instep, and which is so attached to the shoe as to cause the lining and especially the toe and instep portion thereof to adjust itself more accurately and more comfortably to the foot of the wearer. To this end my improved lining is fittted into the boot as a separate foot covering or liner which is attached to the upper by stitching only across the base of the tongue and about the ankle opening of the liner so that the lining is supported in a hanging or oating relation Within the shoe and is thus freely adjustable to the foot of the wearer. Even though the liner is pasted to both upper and insole the absence of any connection with the inseam will enable the liner and more particularly the toe and instep portions to adjust freely to the sensitive toe portions of the foot within the marginal areas of the insole, so that there is less tendency for the sole and adjacent upper portions of the shoe to be warped out of shape during continued use. Moreover the inseam with the construction shown is less ybulky and has less tendency to reduce the liexibility of the sole of the completed shoe. With the shoe construction shown it has been found possible to employ a much lighter and more liexible insole than would normally be required with the result that a lighter and more flexible boot is produced without sacrifice of other desirable qualities. The separately formed insole, which is not connected by stitching to the upper or sole portions of the shoe, further provides a barrier to the entry of moisture into the boot which is so made virtually leakproof.

FIG. 8 of the drawing illustrates a modification in which a floating combined upper and sole half lining is provided in the form of a slipper shaped liner 50 of which the upper portion is a half lining for the upper portion of a welt boot. The liner 5G is otherwise similar to the oating combined lining above described and is built into the boot in a similar manner. The toe and heel portions of the blank from which the liner 50 is made are stitched together forming the transverse seam 54 and the middle seam 56 at the toe and the transverse seam 58 and vertical seam 60 at the heel. The liner 50, sewn together in this manner is then assembled with the vamp 62 and top portions 54 of upper, the relatively low side and heel portions of the liner Si) being fastened into the side seam 65 by the usual side seam stitching and across the base of the tongue 68 by a line of stitching 66. The half lining liner 50 is pasted to the upper, and is also pasted to the insole as part of the shoe assembly operation.

The invention having been described what is claimed is:

1. In a welt boot or shoe having an upper including a lacing slot and tongue, insole, and welt, and a line of inseam stitching connecting the insole, upper and welt, the combination of a combined upper and sole lining cornprising a slipper shaped liner enveloping the foot including the toe and instep and having an ankle opening, and lines of stitching connecting said slipper shaped liner with the shoe upper only across the base of the tongue above the instep remote from the toe, and about said ankle opening of said slipper shaped liner adjacent its edge, thereby supporting said combined lining, including the entire toe and instep enveloping portion thereof, in floating relation to said inseam stitching and to the sole and upper other than at said lines of stitching.

2. A boot in accordance with claim 1 in which said liner has the sole upper lining portion thereof shaped as a half lining and said lines of stitching about the ankle opening extend along a side seam connecting the upper and vamp about the sides and heel of the shoe.

3. A Iboot in accordance with claim 1 in which said liner has the shoe upper lining portion thereof shaped as a full lining and said lines of stitching about the ankle opening extend along the sides of the lacing slot to the ankle opening of the upper, and around the ankle opening of the upper.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which said slipper shaped liner comprises a blank formed of soft leather having toe and heel edge sections joined together by stitching to form closed toe and instep and heel sections of the blank, and in which said lines of stitching about the ankle opening of the liner include stitching along the top edges of the shoe upper about the sides and heel, and across the end of the lacing slot.

5. In a boot having an upper including a lacing slot and tongue, insole, and welt, and a line of inseam stitching connecting the insole, upper and welt, the combination of a combined upper and sole lining comprising a slipper shaped liner having the shoe upper lining portion thereof shaped as a half lining and enveloping the foot including the toe and instep and having an ankle opening, and lines of stitching connecting said slipper shaped liner with the shoe upper only across the base of the tongue and along the edge of said ankle opening of said slipper shaped liner, and including a side seam connecting the upper and vamp about the sides and heel of the boot, thereby supporting said combined lining including the entire toe and instep enveloping portion thereof in tioating relation to said inseam stitching.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 115,141 12/1893 Herzog 36-55 1,604,355 10/1926 Killalee 36-55 2,439,341 4/ 1948 Hlobil 36-11 2,656,620 10/1953 Taylor 36-11 2,982,033 5/1961 Bingham 36-55 X PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent No. 3,350,795 November 7, 1967 Frederick J. Schlecht corrected below.

Column l, line 44, before "will" insert it Column 4, line ZZ, for "sole" read shoe line 59, for "115,141"

read 511,141

Signed and sealed this 21st day of January 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

1. IN A WELT BOOT OR SHOE HAVING AN UPPER INCLUDING A LACING SLOP AND TONGUE, INSOLE, AND WELT, AND A LINE OF INSEAM STITCHING CONNECTING THE INSOLE, UPPER AND WELT, THE COMBINATION OF A COMBINED UPPER AND SOLE LINING COMPRISING A SLIPPER SHAPED LINER ENVELOPING THE FOOT INCLUDING THE TOE AND INSTEP AND HAVING ANKLE OPENING, AND LINES OF STITCHING CONNECTING SAID SLIPPER SHAPED INNER WITH THE SHOE UPPER ONLY ACROSS THE BASE OF THE TONGUE ABOVE THE INSTEP REMOTE FROM THE TOE, AND ABOUT SAID ANKLE OPENING OF SAID SLIPPER SHAPED LINEAR ADJACENT ITS EDGE, THEREBY SUPPORTING SAID COMBINED LINING, INCLUDING THE ENTIRE CORE AND INSTEP ENVELOPING PORTION THEREOF, IN FLOATING RELATION TO SAID INSEAM STITCHING AND TO THE SOLE AND UPPER OTHER THAN AT SAID LINES OF STITCHING. 